News 01.27.02-02.02.02

Saturday, February 2, 2002

Software: Export your iTunes list to make CD inserts

iLounger, “eustacescrubb” has created an Applescript to make organized lists on printed CD inserts.

“This script is simple: it exports the song title, artist name, album name and track time information from iTunes to the clipboard. The user chooses the order in which she’d like the data to be presented and chooses a delimiter character to go between peices of information. The user then must manually paste that information into the document of her choice.”

Preview 3 has now timed out, but don’t despair; XPlay Technology Preview 4 is on the way yet today, Friday, February 1.

While still very much only a taste of what is to come, Preview 4 includes some substantial improvements over previous preview releases. With XPlay Preview 4, you can delete songs, restore your iPod if something goes awry, and make, rename and delete playlists.

Watch this space for more information about XPlay Technology Preview 4 yet today.”

“I wanted to warn your readers about a ‘gotcha’ in the CompUSA warranty. It’s only valid once. I tried using it on a recent iPod which developed a problem, and was told that once the unit is replaced, the warranty is invalidated.”

Forums: iPod makes new friends

iLounger, “pewtey” writes in the forums about how his PC friends reacted to his iPod.

“A friend of mine recently bought a condo and had a housewarming party. It was small, only 6 of us there, and we all knew each other. We have a lot in common, except that I’m the only Mac guru of the bunch. The others are PC-toting windows clones. I was a little unsure of their reaction to the iPod. I expected things like “I can get one with 10GB.” Or “it sucks because it’s apple.” But like me, their reaction was one of awe and respect. They ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the marvelous design and incredible simplicity. They were impressed at how organized everything was, and how it was searchable by playlist, artist or song. Then I told them about the Firewire connection, and the 10+ hour battery, and that it doubles as a hard drive. The last thing they asked about was the price. I hesitated again, but when I told them it was $400, they thought it was a bargain and they all were insanely jealous. It was great.”

If your experiencing problems with long songs, audio books, or other long mp3 files. Jim Cheeseman, Contributing Editor, for Right On Mac had written an earlier story describing the problem and now has several solutions sent in from readers.

“iPod Free File Sync (iPFFS) is the only utility that allows synchronizing music from different iPods or any other source to your computer with ease. It shows you exactly which of the MP3/AIFF/WAV files in the source are not on your computer. After synchronizing, you can browse through the new files directly in the application you’re familiar with - iTunes 2. You may then:”

Copy the desired files directly from within iTunes to your computer manually.

Use the auto copy feature which copies the desired tracks based on artist/album to your computer.

New for v2.1:

When the source was an iPod, synchronizing could fail when the computer was very busy.

International versions of iTunes should work.

Auto copy feature: You can select tracks in the main browser window (not neccessary to open the playlist in a seperate window).

Auto copy feature: If the name of an artist/album contained a colon copying failed.

iLounger, “pewtey”, writes in the forums with his experience using a neoprene sunglass case for his iPod. Be carefull when using neoprene cases other than those specifically designed for the iPod. But, just in case, we ask everyone using pouch type iPod cases, which fully enclose the iPod, to report any problems they may be experiencing due to possible overheating.

“While I’m waiting for my Super Dooper iPod case to ship, I thought I’d share with all you readers out there about my temporary solution. I have a pair of Stussy sunglasses, which came with a handy neoprene case. Since I am horrible at keeping sunglasses intact, I use a sturdier case, leaving the neoprene one free for my iPod. Last week I was driving with my iPod connected to my car stereo whilst inside the protective neoprene. After about 2 hours on the road, I noticed the contrast on the display was not right. There was a distinct fade from dark to light going from the top of the screen to the bottom. I suspect this was caused by the heat that was insulated by the neoprene. Therefore, if you own or are planning to get a neoprene case, it might be smart not to leave the iPod (while playing) inside the case for long amounts of time unless there is sufficient ventilation. While my iPod suffered no operational difficulties, it’s very hard to use an iPod without being able to see the screen.”

Tips & Tricks: How to make your own iPod bag.

iLounger, Heiko from Germany, submits a tip on how to make your own leather iPod bag. Requires Acrobat Reader to view the .pdf document.

“Recently, an iPoding reader asked how he could make some artists’ names appear at the top of the “Artists” list view. This is particularly handy if you have a lot of artists, and you want to have easy access to your favorite musicians or those for which you have entire albums encoded. After testing several options, here are some that will work, and a list of others that will not.”

First reported by iPoding... If you’re an iPod/Windows user, take a look at Podtronics.com for your iPod/Windows software needs. Podtronics.com, developers of WinPod, provides a Windows based interface for the iPod. They also have plans for a Linux interface. The readme file indicates that WinPod is used in conjunction with Mediafours XPlay and MacDrive software. PodTronics has also developed an iPod Updater for use on Windows PCs. It requires the firmware file provided in Apple’s iPod Software Updater. Read the Readme files for more info.

Please read the information carefully at Podtronics.com before installing. There are warnings on using WinPod and iPod Updater for Windows at your own risk.

“iPod Free File SynX (iPFFX) is the only utility that allows synchronizing music from different iPods or any other source to your computer with ease. It shows you exactly which of the MP3/AIFF/WAV files in the source are not on your computer. After synchronizing, you can browse through the new files directly in the application you’re familiar with - iTunes 2. You may then:”

copy the desired files directly from within iTunes to your computer manually.

use the auto copy feature which copies the desired tracks based on artist/album to your computer.